Easter cross buns

Votes: 3

Time: 2 hours 50 minutes
Complexity: average
Quantity: 12 buns

Cross buns are the most popular Easter pastry in many English-speaking countries. Traditionally, they are baked on Good Friday, and sometimes much earlier, due to their amazing flavor and aroma. These small balls of yeast dough are baked with raisins and a variety of spices, including nutmeg, cinnamon, cloves, and ginger. A cross-shaped design is either glazed or slit into the surface of the buns. Both designs look very impressive. Before baking, cut cross-shaped slits into the buns, and then, once baked, fill the slits with a simple glaze of milk and powdered sugar.

The recipes use measuring containers with the following volumes:
1 glass (st.) - 250 ml.
3/4 cup (st.) - 180 ml.
2/3 cup (st.) - 160 ml.
1/2 cup (st.) - 125 ml.
1/3 cup (st.) - 80 ml.
1/4 cup (st.) - 60 ml.
1 tablespoon (tbsp) - 15 ml.
1 teaspoon (tsp) - 5 ml.
1/5 teaspoon (tsp) - 1 ml.

Ingredients for the recipe:

Buns

60 g fresh yeast
2 cups of lukewarm milk
1/4 cup honey
4 tbsp (60 g) butter, diced
3 eggs
4.5 cups high-gluten flour
Spice mix, recipe below
1 teaspoon coarse salt
0.5 cup dark raisins
0.5 cups light raisins
Glaze, recipe below

Spice mix

1.5 tsp ground nutmeg
1.5 tsp ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground cloves
3/4 tsp ground ginger

Glaze

2 cups powdered sugar
1/4 cup milk + more as needed

Ingredient Substitution Suggestions

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Recipes with similar ingredients: milk, honey, butter, eggs, premium flour, raisin, nutmeg, cinnamon, carnation, ground ginger, powdered sugar

Cooking the dish according to the recipe:

Crumble the yeast into a large bowl and add 1 cup of warm milk (the milk should be warm to the touch, but not hot). Gently mix with the dough hook attachment.
Add honey, butter, 2 eggs, flour, spice mix, salt, and raisins. Turn on the mixer and gradually pour in the remaining 1 cup of milk. After a few minutes of kneading, the dough should form a soft ball. If it's too sticky, add a little more flour; if it's too stiff, add a few drops of cold milk.

Place the soft dough directly onto the baking sheet and cover with plastic wrap. Let the dough rise until doubled in size.
Preheat oven to 175°C.
Once the dough has risen, turn it out onto a floured surface. Cut it in half, then cut each half in half again, and so on until you have 12 pieces. Form these pieces into balls. Arrange them evenly on a parchment-lined, floured baking sheet. Cover with plastic wrap and let rise again until the buns have doubled in size. (If you press lightly with your finger, the bun should spring back, but a small impression will remain in the dough.)
Beat the remaining egg with a fork in a small bowl. Gently brush each bun with the egg mixture. Using a sharp knife, cut a cross into the top of each bun. This will not only decorate the bun but also allow it to rise properly during baking.
Bake for 15 minutes or until the buns are golden brown. Let cool.
When the buns are cool, pipe a cross of icing on top of each bun, pouring it directly into the slits with an offset spatula.

Spice mix:

Mix all ingredients.

Glaze:

Place the powdered sugar in a large bowl with the milk. Stir until smooth, adding 1 teaspoon of milk at a time until you have a very smooth, thick glaze.